Convertible container and display stand



y 5, 1967 R. A. SAMSING 3,332,542

CONVERTIBLE CONTAINER AND DISPLAY STAND Filed Sept. 24, 1964 2Sheets-Shae l INVENTOR. ROLF A. SAMSING ATTORNEYS July 25, 1967 R. A.SAMSING CONVERTIBLE CONTAINER AND DISPLAY STAND Filed Sept. 24, 1964 2Sheets-Sheet 2 k S as a 0N N ma m W 0/ AMM F mpvw R United States Patent3,332,542 CONVERTIBLE CONTAINER AND DISPLAY STAND Rolf A. Samsing,Braintree, Mass, assignor to The Gillette Company, Boston, Mass., acorporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 398,894 7 Claims.(Cl. 206-44) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display stand comprising ablank folded to form a foot member and an upright back member, thelatter having an undulating slit therein for receiving and retaining anupright mast portion of a metal rod which also includes a laterallyextending foot section.

This invention comprises a new and improved container convertible into astand for hang-up cards displaying small articles of merchandise, suchas safety razor blades or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a reliable container in which aset or number of display cards may be conveniently packed for storage,safely shipped without damage through any channels of commerce to agentsor retail merchants, and then set up on counters or in show windows andconverted into stands for displaying their contents on hang-up displaycards.

To this end the container of my invention includes in its structurepanels of sheet material so folded as to provide a cover, a two-ply baseand an upright back member. The back member has an undulatory or sinuousslot therein leading toward the base. With these panels of sheetmaterial is combined a metal rod or bracket having a mast portioninterlocked with the back member through the medium of its said slot, anangular foot engaged between the plies of the base and an overheadhanger from which the display cards may be suspended.

The container may be loaded or filled at the factory with a selectednumber of display cards and closed by folding the cover panel. Thisresults in a substantially square package that may be convenientlystacked in storage or wrapped for further handling.

Upon receipt the retail dealer has only to lift the cover panel intoupright position where it is locked by foldable wings that extend acrossthe fold line of the cover panel.

The cooperative arrangement of the slitted back panel and the angularmetal bracket constitues a feature of the invention that contributes tothe ease and facility of assembling the elements of the container and toits sturdy and reliable structure in respect to both of its functions.This feature may be usefully incorporated in display stands of sheetmaterial whether or not they have the additional function of acontainer.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the blank,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary rear view of a portion of the stand,

FIG. 3 is a view of the metal bracket,

FIG. 4 is a front view in perspective of the stand in empty condition,

FIG. 5 is a rear view in perspective of the stand with a full load ofdisplay cards, and

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective showing the cover panel folded in theclosed position of the container.

The convertible container and display stand in its preferred embodimentmay be constructed from a single blank of cardboard or other stilf andresilient sheet material. Such a blank is shown in FIG. 1 as comprisinga rectangular back panel 10 merging into substantially square footpanels, 11 and 12, defined by transverse scored fold lines. At its upperedge as shown in FIG. 1 the back panel 10 merges into rectangular coverpanels 13 and 14 also defined by scored lines.

The back panel 10 is provided with a long vertical slit 15 of sinuous orundulatory conformation that provides intercala'ted tongues herein shownas being of rounded contour though these may be of angular contour ifdesired. The slit 15 terminates at its upper end in a recess formed by adownwardly extending tongue 16 and at its lower end in a recess formedby an upwardly extending tongue 17. These tongues 16 and 17 are resilient and tend always to spring back into the plane of the panel 10from which they are cut. The back panel has also a wide shallow recessin its lower edge formed by a flange 18 that projects from the innerfoot panel 11.

The outer foot panel 12 has in its outer edge a pair of spaced tongues19, which, when the panel is folded, project into the recess of the backpanel above the flange 18 and so lock the foot panels in their foldedand super- .posed relation as shown in FIG. 5.

The inner cover panel 13 is provided with side flanges 20 defined byscored fold lines. The outer cover panel 14 merges into shallow backflaps 21 also set off by scored fold lines. These fold lines areintersected by a pair of inwardly extending elongated wings 22 cut outfrom the material of the panel 14 by diagonal cuts as best shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, and defined by longitudinal scored fold lines,interrupted by cuts forming locking tabs 22' that extend from the wingsinto the flaps. The outer cover panel 14 is folded rearwardly againstpanel 13 and glued or otherwise fastened thereto but leaving the wings22 unattached. When the laminated cover panels 13 and 14 are folded informing a container or package the wings 22 remain in the panels and arefolded with them as shown in FIG. 6.

When serving as a display stand the cover panel 13 is erected as shownin FIGS. 4 and 5. The wings 22 upon being folded outwardly are locked inposition substantially at right angles to the laminated cover panels bythe locking tabs 22 which bear against the rear face of the cover panel13 to retain the latter in its upright position where it serves as aflag carrying advertising or price information.

The parts made of sheet material have now been summarized and the metalrod or bracket 34 with which they are assembled will now be described.This bracket as shown in FIG. 3 has an upright mast portion 30 whichmerges into an overhead forwardly extending hanger portion 31 and mergesdownwardly into right angled foot portion 32 angularly displaced withrespect to the hanger portion. The foot portion 32 in turn merges intoan arm 33 transverse with respect to the hanger portion 31. The mastportion 30 is somewhat longer than the distance between the recessesformed by the tongues 16 and 17. The bracket is continuous throughoutits length and may be formed of spring tempered steel wire 0.105" indiameter or thereabout.

In assembling the stand for loading the panel 10 is bent at right angleswith respect to the panel 11 and the mast portion 30 is forcedrearwardly through the undulating vertical slit 15 and locked in placebehind the tongues of the slit by the tongues 16 and 17 with the footportions 32 resting on the panel 11 as best shown in FIG. 4. The panel12 is now folded over the panel 11 and the foot portion 32 and thespaced tongues 19 are forced through the opening provided by the cut outflange 18. The

bracket is thus securely locked to the panel 1-9 and is held againsttwisting by the transverse arm 33 disposed between the laminated panels10 and 11 adjacent to the told vertex with the hanger arm 31 projectingat right angles to the back of the stand.

As herein shown a series or collection of display cards 28 may besuspended in parallel relation from the hanger arm 31. These cards maycarry small articles of merchandise such as a package 29 of razor bladesshown in FIG. 6. It will be seen that the suspension and arrangement ofthe cards 28 are not disturbed either by folding the cover panels intoclosed position as seen in FIG. 6 or by erecting them into the displayposition as shown in FIG. 5.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail anillustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. A convertible container and display stand comprising an integralblank folded to present a two-ply laminated base and an upstanding backpanel, the back panel having an undulating vertical slit terminating atits upper end in a recess, in combination with a metal rod having anupright intermediate mast portion located behind said vertical slit, aright angular foot engaged between the plies of said base, and anoverhead arm extending forwardly through the said recess of the backpanel.

2. A convertible container and display stand comprising panels so foldedas to provide a cover, a two-ply base and an upright back member, thelatter having an undulatory slit therein leading toward the base, incombination with a metal rod having a mast portion inter locked with theback member at its said slit, an angular foot engaged between the pliesof the base and an overhead hanger projecting from the back panelmember.

3. A convertible container and display stand as described in claim 2,further characterized in that the twoply base is formed with a foldvertex at one edge and the 5. A display stand comprising an uprightpanel of resilient sheet material merging into a transversely disposedfo-ot portion and having an upright slit defined by intercalatedtongues, in combination with a metal rod having a straight mast portiondisposed in contact with the rear face of said upright panel behind thetongues of the slit therein, and having also a forwardly directed hangerportion and an angular foot engaged in the foot portion of the stand.

6. A display stand as described in claim 5, further characterized inthat the upright panel has a resilient tongue located at the upper endof the slit in position to resist rearward displacement of the metalrod.

7. A display stand as described in claim 5, further characterized inthat the upright panel has a recess at the upper end of the slit for theforward passage of the hanger portion of the rod and a tongue engagingthe rear of the mast portion near the upper end thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,284,407 11/1918 Marzahl 206793,108,696 10/1963 \rVinner 206-4521 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM T. DlXSON, 111., Assistant Examiner.

2. A CONVERTIBLE CONTAINER AND DISPLAY STAND COMPRISING PANELS SO FOLDEDAS TO PROVIDE A COVER, A TWO-PLY BASE AND AN UPRIGHT BACK MEMBER, THELATTER HAVING AN UNDULATORY SLIT THEREIN LEADING TOWARD THE BASE, INCOMBINATION WITH A METAL ROD HAVING A MAST PORTION INTERLOCKED WITH THEBACK MEMBER AT ITS SAID SLIT, AN ANGULAR FOOT ENGAGED BETWEEN THE PLIESOF THE BASE AND AN OVERHEAD HANGER PROJECTING FROM THE BACK PANELMEMBER.